Home
Testimonials
Programs and Events
News Articles
Contact Us / Follow us

Underground Scholars Initiative, UCSD

Underground Scholars Initiative, UCSDUnderground Scholars Initiative, UCSDUnderground Scholars Initiative, UCSD
Home
Testimonials
Programs and Events
News Articles
Contact Us / Follow us
More
  • Home
  • Testimonials
  • Programs and Events
  • News Articles
  • Contact Us / Follow us

Underground Scholars Initiative, UCSD

Underground Scholars Initiative, UCSDUnderground Scholars Initiative, UCSDUnderground Scholars Initiative, UCSD
  • Home
  • Testimonials
  • Programs and Events
  • News Articles
  • Contact Us / Follow us

TESTIMONIALS

Jennifer Gomez

 Senior/Political Science - Race, Ethnicity & Politics


Accomplishments

In addition to working with USI at UCSD, I am also President of the Political Science Student  Association which allows me to remain active in my area of focus and  help me support my fellow students. Outside of UCSD, I have been a  Rising Scholars Mentor since the inception of the program at  Southwestern College in Fall of 2020. As a mentor I provide guidance and  support for formerly incarcerated and/or justice impacted students at  Southwestern College that are working on their associates degrees, as  well as currently incarcerated students serving terms at Donovan State  Prison who are working on their degrees as well. I also volunteer as a  program assistant at Sharia's Closet non-profit organization. Sharia's  Closet provides new and gently-used clothing to individuals and families  in crisis or suffering hardship. Each organization I participate in  provides something that my education cannot: Experience, the experience  of those priceless moments you feel when you give yourself to helping  others. I wouldn't give any of those moments away and I believe they are  just as valuable as my education.


Career Goal

I want to work in policy and government or health program planning  and development. I'd like to see more programs that aim to  "rehabilitate" or "reintegrate" drug users and felons back into society  focus on helping individuals get college degrees rather than limiting  them to the same dead end jobs they are used to. I believe if we help  people pursue their education then less people would be doomed to repeat  their mistakes and we would be offering individuals better  opportunities of success.


Being Part of USI

USI is important for many reasons but I am grateful to USI for providing a safe space for students like myself who feel like they  don't fit in with the typical cohort of UCSD students. As a returning  student after a 20 year hiatus due to alcohol and drug abuse, coming  back to college is an exciting thing but also a little intimidating. I  mean I'm twice the age as most students in my classes. But USI shows me that's ok. I am so impressed by our grad students and all the  undergrads that are out there showing the world that it's possible to do  and get what you want if you never give up and just put your mind to  it! It's that type of community and support that helps me succeed. We  have each others backs in a way that people who haven't suffered like we  have could understand. Keeps me motivated, grateful and grounded.

Alessandra Torres-Rojas

Junior/Global Health Major & Social Issues in Healthcare Minor


Accomplishments

My first accomplishment was getting accepted and attending UCSD  to begin with. As a first generation college student, this is something  that I will always pride myself in. In my time here, I have been  involved in several orgs such as Students Against Mass Incarceration  (SAMI), Underground Scholars Initiative (USI),  and GlamourGals, among others. GlamourGals, for example, is an org that  strives to combat senior depression by providing companionship,  manicures, and makeovers to folks in senior homes. I built so many  connections with the community I interacted with and hope to return to  our in-person events soon! SAMI has allowed me to educate myself, and  others, on issues surrounding the prison industrial complex through  reading, research, presentations, and conversations with different  folks. In addition to my org involvement, I participated in Health  Frontiers in Tijuana (HFiT) which is a program where students volunteer  at an absolutely free medical clinic in Tijuana to serve the population.  Anyone is welcome to come in for a consultation, treatment,  prescription, or any other needs they may have. Through this experience,  I was also able to connect with folks I never would’ve imagined. Those  who came into the clinic were always in such high spirits when speaking  and interacting with students. All in all, it was an extremely rewarding  experience that I will be participating in again soon!


Career Goal

 My career goal is to become a physician assistant. I want to  pursue this path because I want to give back to the community I grew up  in. With so many cases of intentional medical neglect, institutional  racism, and unevenly distributed resources among marginalized  communities, I want to be the positive change for my people. Having  grown up between National City and City Heights, I have seen and  experienced the medical injustices first hand. We need healthcare  providers that can relate to their patients, overcome language barriers,  and genuinely cares about their community - that’s what I plan to do. 


Being Part of USI

USI has become a community much like family for me on campus. It’s difficult to try to fit in to an unfamiliar environment and USI has provided me with the support system that I need to be successful in my college career and beyond. Before finding out about USI,  I felt misunderstood, thinking that “people like me” just weren’t on  campus. Now, knowing that I have folks that I can relate to has made  this college process a bit easier to deal with, for that I’m grateful!

Kerry Keith

PhD Student/Communication & Crital Gender Studies


Accomplishments

At UCSD, I am working with others to develop a robust  Underground Scholars Initiative. This year, I am also the coordinator of  the annual community speaker series organized through Critical Gender  Studies, in collaboration with the Digital Gym. This year's theme is  "Materializing Abolition: Queer and Feminist Strategies," which focuses  the practicality of transformative justice initiatives.


Career Goal

I want to begin, labor at, and grow a free and open university.


Being Part of USI

USI has been instrumental in working to make the ivory tower less vertical and more horizontal. While USI reinforces  the neoliberal university in many ways, it also works to disrupt, take  up space in, and shift the production of so-called Knowledge. The  community of Underground Scholars at UCSD has been a vital refuge for  me; it offers a space to think critically about the university from  embodied, experiential, and emergent perspectives. The university and  the prison are not poles, but are interlocked in important ways, and  those who know both systems are able to see their relationality with a  different clarity than those who do not.